Kawhi Leonard has delivered, unlike Kyrie Irving

Wednesday

In his first season with the Toronto Raptors, Leonard has the franchise in its initial NBA FInals against the Golden State Warriors while Irving was unable to get the Celtics out of the second round.

The two of them were traded to teams in the NBA’s Atlantic Division roughly one year apart.

Kyrie Irving requested that the Cleveland Cavaliers deal him away in the summer of 2017, and he was sent to the Celtics.

Kawhi Leonard had a falling out with the San Antonio Spurs and was moved to the Toronto Raptors last July.

The two players selected in the 2011 NBA Draft had won championships with their original teams, Irving helping the Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in 2016 and Leonard earning most valuable player honors of the 2014 NBA Finals when the Spurs defeated the Miami Heat.

The addition of Irving and Leonard gave the Atlantic Division a pair of high-profile players, and with LeBron James moving out of the Eastern Conference for the Los Angeles Lakers last summer, the Celtics and Raptors were the top contenders to get to the Finals this season.

Irving and the Celtics, of course, didn’t quite make it as they had a disappointing regular season before fading away in the second round of the playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Leonard, on the other hand, has led the Raptors to their first championship series since the franchise was founded in 1995.

After finishing with the second-best record in the NBA, the Raptors advanced in the playoffs by beating the Orlando Magic, the Philadelphia 76ers on a Leonard shot at the buzzer in Game 7, and then a stunning reversal against the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks with four straight wins after going down, 2-0.

That has brought the Raptors to the Finals, where they host the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors in Game 1 on Thursday night in Canada.

Irving and Leonard were both named to the All-NBA second team this season after having well-rounded seasons, but it is Leonard who has delivered the Raptors within four wins of a championship.

The Raptors took a gamble by acquiring Leonard last July, sending a popular player in DeMar DeRozan plus Jakob Poeltl and a first-round draft pick to San Antonio for Leonard and Danny Green.

Leonard played only nine games for the Spurs last season due to a quadriceps injury and he had a falling out with the organization along the way.

With Leonard due to become a free agent this summer, the Raptors were in danger of renting one of the game’s best players for only one season.

Irving, as well, is going to test the free-agent market this summer after two seasons with the Celtics.

After pledging last October to re-sign with the Celtics, Irving backed off that promise during the season as his unhappiness grew. He began blaming younger teammates as the Celtics struggled, then had a brutal final four games against the Bucks when the Celtics needed him the most.

As Irving contemplates his next move – the New York Knicks? the Los Angeles Clippers or Lakers? – Leonard will be trying to carrying the Raptors past the dominant Warriors.

He was magnificent in the regular season, averaging career highs of 26.6 points and 7.3 rebounds in 60 games and has been brilliant in the playoffs, averaging 31.2 points on 51 percent shooting plus 8.8 rebounds while playing nearly 40 minutes a game.

The Celtics will be keeping a close eye on how the Raptors fare in the Finals against the Warriors, who are making their fifth straight trip to the championship round.

Will Leonard find happiness in Canada if he can get the Raptors their first title? Or will he be returning home to southern California this summer, joining James with the Lakers or playing for Doc Rivers with the Clippers?

If Leonard is indeed one and done with the Raptors, that will erase one leading contender in the Eastern Conference.

If the Celtics can re-sign Irving and somehow find the right mix, which was missing this season, then they will have to deal with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks plus the 76ers, who have some business to take care of with free agents Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris capable of leaving them.

The Celtics are going to have a hectic offseason starting in three weeks with the draft followed by the start of free agency.

Everything will center around what Irving decides to do, whether he stays in Boston with a five-year, $189 million deal, or exits his second team in three years.

The Raptors, too, will be at the mercy of Leonard, who will either remain in Toronto or quickly move on after delivering the franchise a long awaited trip to the Finals.

Jim Fenton may be reached at jfenton@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFenton_ent.

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